how do you keep your garage warm in the winter

wishihad1

NAXJA Forum User
hey everybody

well with being in college now, it seems like the only time that i have time to work on my jeep/friends jeeps is during winter breaks. we also dont normally start working on the jeeps till 10-11 at night. (work all day...jeeps all night...fun right) anyways this thanksgiving break, ive got to hopefully finish whats left of my build (3 link install/ front 44, and mount 38s up), also put a dana 30 under a YJ, install shackles on a buddies XJ, and probably a few other little minor things

anyways, im tired of not being able to feel my hands, and just being freezing cold all night out there. its a pretty nice garage, and isn't too too big, so with a few guys in there, after 2-3 hours it starts warming up a little bit. but i want some real heat this winter time. like easily comfortable in jeans, and a sweat shirt...heck maybe even a tshirt. any suggestions. ive got a 20gallon propane tank that i was thinking i could maybe get a heater attachment for?

how do yall do it?
 
Taco Bell, beer and pickled eggs, works every time...
 
Call up the rental companies (not necessarily the homeowner rental companies: I'm talking United Rentals, Neff Rental, etc.) and ask for a price on a used propane fired heater. You don't need one that puts on more then 300,000 BTU's, which is actually a small one.

Also, Home Depot sells the Kerosene/Diesel fired portable heaters. That's what I use in my garage. Don't use Diesel though, or you'll choke yourself out.
 
x3 on Propane heaters. I like the Mr.Heater design. It forces it better. throw that on high for 20 mins, then when your cozy, turn it down to Low and let there be warmth!
 
guess it depends. I've worked late into the night at 30* or less. even mechanics gloves wont help your fingers freezing. haha
 
well for me this winter we have heat in my garage but before that we used a good old torpido heater or drove the car we were gonna work on for a while then pulled it in the grage and poped to hood that really helps warm up the garage fast if you don't mind a few second degree burns
 
I have a couple of old garden umbrella stands (cement base) with two 500 watt lamps apiece on them (four total). I installed a switch, to switch from one lamp to two. This year I think I'm going to put wheels on them. Works for me on all but the coldest days, then I have a propane heater (blower). The propane heater is nice, but you always have to keep carbon monoxide in mind, with the spot lights you don't have that worry.
In my shop I have a cast iron stove build right through the wall (most of the oven is in the shop only the front is outside), you have to walk outside to feed it wood, but no flame source is in the shop. The back of the oven is typically 400F, the whole brick wall radiates heat.
 
First I start with finding some random chick, then I rapidly move past the "hi, what's your name, what ya charge" bit and then ....oh wait, you talking about something different here, I have a ceiling hung ventless propane heater in the shop and it works great and is fairly efficient for the amount of heat it puts out. The new shop is insulated well, so it makes for a comfortable work enviroment and I can work in jeans and a t-shirt fairly comfortable. I have to remember to cover the floor drains in the winter though or I will have some unwanted visitors (mice) try and make their way up the drains into the shop where it is nice and toasty.
 
halogen lights, 4 of them. It all really depends on the size of your workspace. The Propan and kerosene heaters work, just remember, the exhaust can kill you, so either ventilate or, well... I have seen lots of wood stoves in shops.
 
before i graduated college and moved away I had two solutions when I visited home depending on whether I was in the upstairs garage, or in the basement. For the basement we had a forced air heater that worked great. It was just a small one, but it would heat up 1200sqft very well. Upstairs we would either do the same, or we pulled a tile from the drop ceiling because the dryer vent was right above that. So we would just start a few loads of laundry and pull the dryer vent and let it hang into the garage. Heated it up very nicely without using any extra energy.
 
I have an oil hot-air furnace in my garage. Worked outside in the driveway for years. Cardboard creepers are full of suck :puke:
 
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